Career Training & Education

WACOPS is committed to providing opportunities for members to develop and enhance their ability to lead within their guild, local community, and state. Our Training Committee is charged with identifying national and state experts on subject areas most relevant to our members.

This presentation will expose you to a program taking Clark County Washington by storm. Lifevest inside is a non-profit organization actively looking to partner with law enforcement to work cooperatively spreading kindness. It may sound like a gimmick, but it's really a first step to promoting law enforcement's integral role in supporting and promoting a healthy community. Lifevest inside takes a proactive approach to prevent negative social issues such as bullying, substance abuse, depression, crime and more. By attending this training you will learn how this grass-roots program is creating positive interactions between law enforcement and the public. You will learn how your own department may be able to launch a Kindness Citation program in partnership with WACOPS and lifevest inside. While the implementation of any program like this one will require the buy-in and support of your department's management team, by attending this session you will be inspired to look for acts of kindness in your own community, respond to those acts with encouragement, and maybe....work to promote lifevest inside with your department's leadership.

2:15pm - 4:15pm | Law Enforcement Unions in a Post Janus World --

Presented by Will Aitchison, Labor Relations Information Systems.

The presentation will cover how law enforcement labor organizations around the country are dealing with the Janus decision. Attendees will learn the options available for dealing with the "free rider" problem, whether contracts need to be reopened to address Janus, the emerging notion of "pay-to-play" representation, and how legal defense plans are becoming the subject of much debate.

Union Presidents are encouraged to attend!

September 13th

8:00 - 12:00pm | Protecting & Serving the Law Enforcement Culture: How to honor the profession and enhance public safety in challenging times -- Presented by Mark Lewis, LM2 Consulting Inc. (Bellevue Retired)

The presentation will cover the history of the profession and the way today's pressures (inadequate staffing, negative media, the "entitled society") are impacting the profession, its proud culture, and its future. By attending this presentation you will have a better understanding of how the profession has changed in recent decades and what you can do to maintain law enforcement's autonomy in defining and enforcing its proud and honorable culture.